Vacuum tank



May19,1925. 1,538,519

H. RINGGENBERG VACUUM TANK Filed OCT.. 18 1924 75 /74/.7/740/0/ 4 F50/77 @as 7544 75 @0M/fo @11 y uw@ MM attoznu l Patented May 19, 1925.

UNITED sTATEs 1,538,519 PATENT oFFlcE.

HOWELL RINGGENBERG, OF SHERBURN, MINNESOTA.

VACUUM TANK.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWELL ItiNGGEN- BERG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sherburn, in the'county of Martin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Vacuum Tank, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved vacuum tank designed to be installed in the fuel feeding system of an automobile to act in the customary and well known manner.

It is my object to generally improve upon tanks of this class by providing one which is structurally different from patented and marketed vacuum tanks with which I am familiar, the present improved tanks having beencarefully designed to insure effectiveness of operation of the fuel feeding system.

More specilically s eaking,\I pro ose to provide an yimprove device of thls kind which embodies a tank having an upper vacuum chamber, this tank being closed by a removable cover which carries the essential details of the device, the cover and these details being removable as a single unit.

It is also a feature of the invention to equip the cover with a depending internally disposed bracket which carries a float controlled bell crank equipped with a single spring pressed' valve for alternately closing the a1r vent and the passage leading to the intake manifold.

In the accompanying drawing The ligure represents an enlarged view partly in section and partly in elevation showmg the improved structure with the parts in their normal. position.

Referrin to the drawings in detail, the reference c aracter 1 designates an open top tank having a drain plug 2 atv its bottom :tight ]oint.

and a cou ling for a supply pipe 3l which is adapte to lead to a car uretor (not shown). In the upper portion of this tank is a suitably desi ed vacuum chamber 4. Depending from t is chamber into the fuel containing chamber is a curved dlscharge fpipe 5 provided with a suitably designed well known check valve 6. The upper end of the tank is closed by a remova e cover 7 detachably bolted or otherwise secured to a flange at the top of the tank. Ap roprla'te packing 8 is utillzed here to provi e a fluid Connected to the under side of 1nto the center of the cover and dependin s the vacuum chamber is al -aubstantia ly L- shaped bracket 9. Pivoted to the free end of the short arm of this bracket is a bell crank l() carrying a vertically disposed spring containing cup 11- in which a coil spring 12 is located. Also disposed within this cupis a ball check valve 13. Normally, this'ball. check valve closes the lower end of a short pipe 14 which is adapted to communicate with the intake manifold of the engine. Under normal conditions however, the ball and check valve is adapted to close a port 15 formed at the inner end of an air vent pipe 16.v

To insure proper seating of the valve, a stop 17 is provided on the pipe adjacent the port 15. Thefloat 18 serves to control the ball check valve, the same being provided at its bottom with af guide stem 19 adapted to telescope into the pipe 5 and l'being provided at its top with a stem 20 havingstop shoulders 21 located thereon at spacedl oints for cooperation with the bell crank. f desired, the brackets, pipes 14 and 16, and the other cooperating detailspmay all be carried by the removable cover so as to be removed therewith as a unit. Also connected to and removable with the cover is a pipe 22 which is adapted to be connected with a gasoline supply tank. If desired` the() discharge end of this pipe 22 may be screened as indicated at 23.

Assuming that the lower compartment of this tank and lower portion of the vacuum chamber are filled with gasoline to the normal fuel line, the float 18 will assume the approximate position indicated in the drawing. At this same time. the valve cu 11 will be in a vertical position as seen, an the cup 13 will close the intake manifold pipe 14. Atmospheric air will enter through the vent 16 and will permit the gasoline to flow by gravity from` the compartment 4 and chamber beneath it through the pipe 3 to the carburetor. Now, if for any reason the fuel level should drop, the 4float will go down with it and when an unsafe level is reached, the stop 21 on the upper end of the stem 20 will abut the shortarm of the bell crank 10, rocking the latter upon its pivot and swinging the cup 11 to a diagonal position, at which time the ball check valve will be projected to close the port 15, cutting olf outside air.' Obviously, the suction then produced in the chamber 4 through the intake pipe 14` will serve to act on the gas supply pipe 22 in the usual way to draw in llU Having thus described the invention, Whaty I claim.is:-

1. A vacuum tank for installation in the .fuel feeding system of an automobile comprising a tank embodying a cover, a bracket carried by the under side of said cover and depending into the tank. said bracket being of L-shaped formation. a bell crank carried by the free end of the horizontal arm of said bracket, a cup carried by said bell crank, a spring located in said cup, a ball check valve mopex'ative with said spring and also arranged in Said cup, a fuel intake manifold pipe with which lsaid check valve is COOperative, and an air vent controlledby the 'same valve. p '3 l 2. A vacuum tank of the class described embodying a substantially L-shaped sup-` porting bracket. a bell crank lever pivoted upon the free end of the short arm of said bracket, a vertically disposed spring con taining cup carried by said bell crank, a spring located in said cup, a ball check valve located in. said cup and cooperative with said spring, a pipe closed by said ball check valve and adapted to lead to the intake manifold of an engine, an air `supply pipe adjacent said first named pipe and provided With a discharge port, a stop on said pipe adjacent said port,v the aforesaid ball check valve being vadapted to control said port, a vfioat provided at its bottom with a guide stem and at its top with a stem equipped with spaced stops cooperable with horizontal arms of said bell crank for mov-i ing said cup'to a diagonal position when 40 said float assumes a. dangerously low level.

In testimony whereof I affix my signa ture.

HOWELL RINGGENBERG. 

